Beijing: Chinese imports fell for a seventh straight month in May while exports also sank, data showed on Monday, as the world's second biggest economy shows protracted weakness in the face of government easing measures.
The disappointing figures also come as leaders try to transform the economy from one where growth is driven by consumer spending rather than government investment and exports.
Imports slumped 17.6% year on year to $131.26 billion, the General Administration of Customs said in a statement.
The decline was much sharper than the median forecast of a 10% fall in a Bloomberg News poll of economists and followed April's 16.2% drop.
"Import growth disappointed the market with a fall even larger than that in April, suggesting domestic demand remained weak," Nomura economist Zhao Yang said in a research note.
Exports dropped for the third consecutive month, falling 2.5% to $190.75 billion, Customs said, although that was better than the median estimate of a 4% fall in the Bloomberg survey.
The sharp decrease in imports meant the trade surplus expanded 65.6% year on year to $59.49 billion, according to the data.
In yuan terms imports fell 18.1%, exports decreased 2.8% and the trade surplus expanded 65.0%.
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